One of the challengers of the Yabusame competition concentrates before his ride.

The entire ride will last just about 20 seconds, but this discipline requires many skills and concentration is an essential factor. In this close up is possible to have a clear view on some of the traditional elements of the archer’s clothing: the hat, named “Onigasa”; the left part of the upper clothing, named “Igote” serves as protection for the arm that holds the Yumi longbow; the lower part, made of deer’s leather and named “Mukabaki”, protects the legs.

 

This shot belongs to the award-winning series in the PX3 Prix de la photographie 2014 edition: “Yabusame” – Bronze medal – Category Press/Performing arts

 

You can find the full blog post about the japanese traditional horse mounted archery at the following page: Yabusame, the japanese horse mounted archery